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Date: July 12, 2015 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Notes: Lots of trails, beautiful views, and we got lost... again. In our defense I think it is pretty easy to get lost on these trails. They didn't seem too well marked. Views were only OK, but very quiet and not too many people. |
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Date: August 23, 2015 Location: San Carlos, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Notes: I just don't really remember this hike too well. I suppose that should tell us something? |
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Date: August 29, 2015 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Notes: The hiking was only ok, views were ok, gunshot sounds from local gun range not all that great, but I think Jane would say it was all worth it. This is the only trail I know that has wine tasting at the end of the trail. And taste we did. |
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Date: September 7, 2015 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Notes: Very peaceful, but no dogs allowed. Close to Coal Creek. Not too many people which was nice. On the other hand I remember a long drive up Page Mill Road to get there. Lots of bicyclists on the narrow road. In the future we'll use highway 84 to get there. |
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Date: October 31, 2015 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Click for more photos from this hike Notes: This was a terrific hike. We ended up hiking longer than we originally planned, but the views were worth it. Amazing Bay view and towards SF, plus view of the open space. Once we got far enough from the road it was very quiet and peaceful. Highly recommend. |
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Date: November 12, 2015 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Notes: Very nice hiking area and biking too. Lots of different options and many miles of trails. We just did an hour hike on a fire trail wide enough for a car, but not paved. It was quiet, nice paved parking lot, bathrooms, but no running water. Highly recommend. |
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Date: November 13, 2015 Location: Saratoga, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Notes: The Fremont Older Open Space Preserve can be hiked, but on this occasion we went on a trail ride. This was great fun for both of us. It has be decades since either of us had gone riding. This was a really slow mellow ride suitable for just about anyone with even zero experience. We are hoping to go back soon. They have over 15 miles of trails. |
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Date: Many times over the years Location: Woodside, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Medium This is always a great hike with terrific views. It is medium difficulty. Not all that long, but pretty steep. They allow bikes, but hiking is hard enough. Dogs are allowed, but off lease you'll get a ticket. |
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Date: January 2, 2016 Location: Los Gatos, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Medium Click for more photos from this hike Our first hike in 2016! This is a great hike. It took a bit of a drive to get to Los Gatos, but after the hike we got to check out downtown a litte. I'd been on this hike previously, but not since I lived in there in the early 2000s. Pretty easy hike, withan amazing view once we made it to the top, plus dog really liked it. I highly recommend. Took a little over an hour to the top and back and we didn't get nearly as lost as usual. |
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Date: January 10, 2016 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Very Easy Click for more photos from this hike The website says this trail is 1.5 miles, but that would only be true if we were counting round trip... twice. This was a very very short trail, almost no parking (2 cars) and not really worth the trip. There was a nice view from the end of the trail, but just too short to make it worth the time. There are too many other trails close by that offer so much more. This was right on Page Mill Road with about 4 more trails within a few miles. |
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Date: January 10, 2016 Location: Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Click for more photos from this hike Nice trails, some canyon views, but the dog trails are very limited and close to highway 35. Maybe I'll go back sometime without Juneau and see what else the park has to offer. |
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Date: Feb 14, 2016 Location: Los Altos, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Too Easy Notes: This preserve was very easy. As such it was flooded with people and lots of children. Also there is a small tourist farm there too that the kids can visit. Once we got past the farm we eventually got some solitude, but not for long. This was a very busy hiking spot that I can't really recommend if you want to get in touch with nature. Although great view once we got to the vista point. |
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Date: Feb 20, 2016 Location: Santa Cruz Mountains, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Moderate Notes: Beautiful hiking trail. Parking was limited and it was a little difficult to find, but a very wide well maintained trail. Not technical at all. But... large elevation changes. Going down the hill was much easier than coming back up. Also more people than usual were seen on this trail. All that being said this trail is worth the drive to get there. Recommended! |
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Date: April 3, 2016 Location: Los Gatos, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Moderate Notes: Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is a very nice preserve, but difficult to find. There is no formal parking lot, just a space on the side of the road. Also, access is through the LimeKiln trail. So there is no good marking that can be seen from the road. you'll need to look up the location before going. But worth the trouble. Dogs allowed and beautiful view, once you look in the direction other than the mining pit. Very quiet and not too many other people We hiked almost two hours and just saw the beginning of the trail. I expect one could hike for many hours here. There was a lot of up-hill and we were done once we had gone up for an hour. Juneau loved it. It was a nice wide trail, but very rocky and a little slippery due to loose rocks. |
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Date: June 12, 2016 Location: Los Gatos, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy The Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve was possibly our best Open Space Preserve hike yet. No dogs allowed, but beautiful scenery, the highest named peak in San Mateo County at 2600 ft with views to SF and the oceans at the same time, plus not too steep or very wooded. We hiked for about 2 hours, but one could hike for as long or as short a time as you want. This place gets 5 out of 5 stars and we'll be back. |
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Date: July 4, 2016 Location: Woodside, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy The Bear Creek Redwood Open Space Preserve was our most unfulfilling Open Space Preserve hike yet. Located just above Los Gatos off Highway 17 a permit is required to hike this preserve. This was not well kept up. It had falling down buildings with graffiti on them. Also we were never really able to get away from the sound of highway 17. This is a two paws down hike and not recommended when there are so many other good hikes in the area. 1 out of 5 stars. |
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Date: July 11, 2016 Location: La Honda, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Medium The La Honda Open Space Preserve was hard to find, but well worth the effort. This preserve requires a permit which meant that we were the only people there. It is tucked away down very windy roads and behind a locked gate. The hiking part was medium difficulty, and only a few miles, but the view was the most impressive of any hike we've done so far. We could actually see the waves crashing on the beach from the vista point. Very impressive view. Lots of flies so bring your bug spray. |
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Date: July 24, 2016 Location: East Palo Alto, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Yes This preserve was located close to an automotive salvage yard and a large PG&E plant. The hike was very short and fairly crowded plus not dog friendly. This is not one of our more highly rated hikes. |
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Date: September 3, 2016 Location: Saratoga, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Not very difficult Easy to find and not very difficult. This was an enjoyable trail with easy parking right at the intersection of highway 35 and highway 9. Not too many people, although there were several bicycles. It is a small preserve with only about a mile of trail and no dogs allowed plus a little close to the road, but still very pretty. Looking for a quick and easy hike, this could be the one. |
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Date: January 1, 2017 Location: Saratoga, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy The El Sereno Preserve requires a drive up a steep, narrow, windy road, but well worth the effort. Amazing views and very peaceful at the top of the Saratoga Mountains. Just a few minutes South on 17 from Los Gatos I high recommend this hike. It did get a little windy so bring your windbreaker. The hiking here is very easy. The dirt roads are wide and not very steep. No dogs allowed, but otherwise amazing. |
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Date: April 30, 2017 Location: Mountain View, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy The Stevens Creek Nature Study Area is right next to the NASA center. The trail comes within 50 feet of the NASA grounds. It also goes into the Bay on man made walkways. It is completely flat with no hills and very well groomed, sometimes paved, trails. It's a nice place to get close to the water with few people around. Not like so many of the other trails that are in the woods with lots of trees, but very pleasant. Highly recommended. The actual Open Space trail was only half a miles, but it does connect to the Bay Area Trail. |
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Date: April 3, 2017 Location: Woodside, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy The Teage Hill Open Space preserve is VERY difficult to find. The presverve itself can only be accessed by parking on the side of the road and going through another park area. There is no direct road access and there are no signs. Once you arrive there is only about 1 mile of hiking. Yes it was quiet and pretty, but not really recommended. Due to the difficulty finding it and the very short hike I just don't think it is worth the effort. Also note that there are high voltage wires over much of the hike which detracts from the idea of being away from it all. |
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Date: May 13, 2017 Location: Woodside, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Medium The Skyline Ridge Open Space preserve was nice. Easy to find, lots of parking, lots of trails, but no dogs allowed. Lots and lots of trails. We could have hiked for hours, but we limited it to a little over an hour. The views were beautiful. Lots of green. Some of the trails were nice and wide, others a little more narrow, but nothing scary... except for the mountain lion and rattle snake warnings. Highly recommended! |
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Date: May 12, 2015 Location: Woodside, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Medium Truth be told I don't remember this hike too well. Jane says it was nice so it gets a 4 out of 5 stars. |
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Date: January 20, 2017 Location: Mariposa, CA Dog Friendly: Some Difficulty: Easy Beautiful trip to Tenaya Lodge just outside of Yosemite. So much snow. It was amazing. Hadn't seen that much snow in decades. We had fun playing in the snow. The driving was ok. Who knows how long until we experience that again. It was only a short trip, but well worth the drive in rain and snow to get there. Highly recommend Tenaya Lodge although very loud with lots of children. |
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Date: December 15, 2013 Location: Marin, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Very pretty, but a huge turist attraction. Just by luck we picked a day in the winter when there were very few people. I'd love to go back, but only on a off season day. During the busy season you have to park in a remote parking lot and take bus in. It wasn't worth a bus ride. |
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Date: March 22, 2015 Location: Just outside Yosemite, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Notes: This was a very cool hiking area just outside Yosemite. The valley floor in the park was absolutely crawling with people, but just a couple miles away, at Nelder Grove we ran into maybe one other group of people during our hour there. Very quiet, pretty, and not too many people. If the park is too busy this is a great place. |
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Date: August 2015 Location: San Carlos, CA Dog Friendly: Yes Difficulty: Easy Notes: Every park has one big thing going for it, and with Eaton Park it is proximity to our house. It is a 10 minute walk from home and a very nice place to get a little exercise with some terrific views of the Bay Area. From Eaton Park you can see from San Francisco to about Mountain View and the entire East Bay. |
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Date: September 27, 2015 Location: Sonoma, CA Dog Friendly: Partial Difficulty: Easy Park Name: Jack London State Park This was a really fun addition to our Sonoma visit. We saw the remains of Jack London's estate with multiple houses and buildings. There is a museaum and miles of trails. We only had a couple hours and saw what we could during that time. |
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Date: April 25, 2013 Location: Stanford, CA Dog Friendly: No Difficulty: Easy Stanford's Dish Hike I've been driving by these dishes for decades and never knew there was a trail here. The trail goes by a dozen dishes and lots of other antennas. Very fun and an easy paved trail. Maybe an hour's walk and just a couple miles of paved trail. |